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3mo ago

Mineral Condensation Captured in Planet-Forming Disk of Protostar HOPS-315

Combined observations from the James Webb Space Telescope with ALMA pinpoint silicon monoxide crystallizing into silicate grains at 2.2 astronomical units from the protostar.

This is HOPS-315, a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation. The image was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. Together with data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), these observations show that hot minerals are beginning to solidify. In orange we see the distribution of carbon monoxide, blowing away from the star in a butterfly-shaped wind. In blue we see a narrow jet of silicon monoxide, also beaming away from the star. These gaseous winds and jets are common around baby stars like HOPS-315. Together the ALMA and JWST observations indicate that, in addition to these features, there is also a disc of gaseous silicon monoxide around the star that is condensing into solid silicates –– the first stages of planetary formation. Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al.
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Overview

  • Scientists observed silicon monoxide gas transitioning into solid crystalline silicate grains at about 2.2 astronomical units in HOPS-315’s disk, marking the earliest detected stage of rocky planet formation.
  • The protostar HOPS-315 in Orion is estimated to be 100,000 to 200,000 years old and lies roughly 1,300 light-years from Earth, making it an analogue of our young Sun.
  • Infrared spectra from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed mineral signatures while ALMA’s submillimeter imaging localized the condensation zone within the protoplanetary disk.
  • The observed region corresponds to an asteroid belt analogue, linking laboratory studies of meteorites to real-time observations of planet-building processes.
  • The findings, led by Melissa McClure of Leiden University and published July 16 in Nature, open pathways for comparative studies of other emerging planetary systems.